Zach Wilson, saddled with the “draft bust” label as he tries to salvage his NFL career, is giving the New Orleans Saints reasons to take him seriously as a potential backup to Tyler Shough.
Now with his fourth team since the New York Jets drafted him second overall in 2021, Wilson enlivened New Orleans’ offense with downfield throws during the Saints’ 24-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in both teams’ preseason opener on Saturday.
“Obviously, I’m here to compete,” Wilson said after completing 11 of 16 passes for 145 yards and a short touchdown to rookie tight end Oscar Delp. “I’m still young, but I feel like I’ve been able to play in a lot of games and see a lot of different things, and so I feel like it’s been able to slow down a little bit for me.”
Wilson connected Bub Means for 27 and 37 yards, and rookie Barion Brown for 28 yards, as he led the Saints to a touchdown and field goal late in the first half.
“Zach’s a really talented quarterback,” second-year coach Kellen Moore said. “He’s still got tons of growing to do and I think he’s done a great job of applying himself this year in this system. So, I’m proud of what he was able to do out there.”
Spencer Rattler, who started the first half of last season for New Orleans, entered training camp as the projected backup and started Saturday.
He was 8 for 11 for 42 yards and lost a fumble on a sack by Yasir Abdullah at the New Orleans 10, setting up one of Cam Little’s three field goals for Jacksonville.
“I just tried to make a guy miss,” Rattler said. “I probably should have just thrown it away.”
With no starters on the field for either team, the Jaguars scored 18 unanswered points in the second half, fueled by undrafted rookies J’Mari Taylor, Joey Aguilar and Trebor Pena.
Taylor rushed for 78 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave Jacksonville its first lead.
“At the end of the day it’s all football, so take advantage of your opportunities and go out there and have fun,” Taylor said. “Big shoutout to the guys up there blocking for me.”
Taylor’s TD was set up by Aguilar’s 43-yard completion deep down the left sideline to Pena, who had dropped a potential touchdown pass in the end zone earlier in the second half.
The long completion was the first for Aguilar, who had just entered the game.
“Sometimes those are better when you don’t have to think as much,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said. “You can just kind of let it rip.”
New Orleans had two more possessions before the game ended with fourth-string QB Hunter Dekkers under center. The first ended with a punt, the second with an incomplete pass as time expired on second-and-goal from the 2.
The Saints also missed a chance to score in the second half when Charlie Smyth missed a 52-yard field-goal attempt wide right.
“There was not a ton of positives in the first half,” Coen said. “Collectively, as a team, I was very happy with the response” in the second.
Carter Bradley passed for 105 yards and short TD to Hunter Long for the Jaguars. He also was intercepted by Jayden Price near midfield late in the first half, setting up a Saints touchdown.
The Saints took a 7-0 lead on Audric Estime’s 9-yard run, one play after Ty Chandler returned the opening kickoff 86 yards.
Nick Mullens started at QB for Jacksonville with Trevor Lawrence sitting out. He completed just three of seven passes for 33 yards and was intercepted on the Saints 4-yard line by Jaylen Ford.
Undrafted rookie defensive end Michael Heldman had two sacks for New Orleans.
Injuries
Jaguars: Right tackle Chuma Edoga suffered a leg injury during a running play on Jacksonville’s first offensive snap.
“Unfortunately, it’s at a position in which it’s hard to function when you have depth issues and injuries,” Coen said. “We’ll have to push through it.”
Saints: Estime went to the locker room in the second quarter after taking a hit to the knees from Jacksonville’s Jabbar Muhammad on a screen pass. Rookie defensive tackle Christen Miller left the game shortly before halftime.
Up next
Jaguars: Host Carolina on Friday night.
Saints: Visit the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 22 after spending the bulk of the coming week practicing in California.
READ MORE:VIDEO REPORT: Zach Wilson stands out for the Saints in a 24-20 preseason loss to the Jaguars
